Hi everyone,

Yes, it’s time to make that dreaded decision: are you planning on weighing yourself during the holidays?  My answer is a wholehearted “yes!” In fact, I plan to weigh myself every day (or at least once every other day).

Here’s my rationale: since I’ve reached my target weight and am now maintaining at 110-112 lbs, I want early warning if I’m starting to go out of that range.  (Please note: at 5’0”, my BMI is approx. 21.5, precisely where it should be.) I’ve found by experience that if I jump up to 113, it only takes two or three days of being “gooder” to go back down into my target range. 

I don’t want to wake up on Jan. 1 to discover that I’ve gained 8 pounds!  I want to know right away if I’ve gone up, even a little bit, so I can take corrective action right away!  It only takes 2 days of being “gooder” to nip weight gain in the bud, but it might take weeks to bring it down after the holiday season if left unchecked!

One more note: “gooder,” to me, is not a bread-and-water diet!  To me, “gooder” means: 1. pay attention to the food I’m eating (ask, “how do I want to feel?"), 2. limit treats to 1 a day, 3. walk at least 20 minutes a day, 40 if possible.  So simple, so easy!

So bring on the scale!  When I wake up on Jan. 1 (or Jan. 15, or Feb. 1, or any other day), I intend to be in my perfect target range of 110-112.  No holiday pounds for me, unless I’m measuring pounds of presents! 

What about you guys?  Anyone else planning on weighing themselves during the holidays?

Cheers,
Julie

Julie,
Great topic for this time of year!! I am with you I will be watching the scale as well!!  Of course I will have some fun during the holiday season, controlled fun of course.  But like yourself I want to know when things are starting to get a little out of control and make the needed corrections before I get caught up in a landslide.  Like Scott says, “ I want to workout so I can go out!!!” Now that is something I can live with this holiday season.  I hope Santa brings me a scale for the holidays that shows the amount of fat too!! That would be totatlly cool.  Great topic Julie!!!

Scooby

Cool topic Julie!

You know I’m a fan of weighing myself daily.  Once you get used to seeing the normal ups and downs that the body goes through you really get an idea where you are.

Joi and I have a routine these days that’s kind of funny.

In the morning, she normally beats me out of bed just to show me up.  A quick trip to the rest room and she drags the scale from the closet into the middle of the bathroom floor and weighs herself.  It’s always within a pound of where she want to be by the way.  Then she says, “alright Mister… you’re turn”.  That’s when I jump out of bed and onto the scale myself.  Of course, while I’m at it she makes the bed so I can’t retreat! 

This little ritual allows us both to be accountable for ourself and each other because we both know what the other needs to be doing and can help them succeed. 

In any case, the scale IS our friend because it forces accountability and leaves it up to us as to how we deal with the results.

Scott - 08 November 2007 11:28 AM

Cool topic Julie!

In any case, the scale IS our friend because it forces accountability and leaves it up to us as to how we deal with the results.

As usual, our fearless leader nailed it. Accountability...if you subject yourself to it you can’t ignore it. And knowing your ups & downs can keep you from freaking out at the pound or two that appears out of nowhere.

Another benefit of daily weighing is it can alert you to potential problems. My wife was towing the line and was still putting on weight (and she only knew this from weighing herself daily). She was concerned and e-mailed her Doctor...long story short, she was retaining water due to a drug interaction with her birth control pills. A change in regimen later and 10 pounds were gone in a week.

Malama Pono,
Fat Jeff

I hadn’t even thought of not weighing myself over the holidays. Cool, gotta love options! Just kidding. I’ve actually started weighing myself daily again (I’d gotten to a once in every 3 day pattern), I’m looking to lose weight over the holidays.

Bree

I keep a journal, weigh every morning and plan to continue that through the holidays. I am starting morning workouts (I got up at 5 am this morning for the first time in months) and following a very strict, healthy diet for the next 2 weeks in preparation for the holidays. I like Scott’s idea of letting your spouse know your weight and keep you accountable - Wow that would really work for me. I really hate for anyone to know what I weigh and it would be a good motivator. My husband is supportive and as long as I am not whining about my weight without doing anything about it. That is a great tip.  Thanks.--Sara

I’m weighing myself everyday I’m home.  I do the journal thing too. I’m actually using an Excel spreadsheet to track all of my food/ calroies, as well as my workouts and daily weight.  I’m also taking snacks on my trips and planning ahead on what I’ll eat for Christmas and Thanksgiving. I’ll also plan extra workouts as I will have 5 days off at Thanksgiving and three weeks at Christmas. One of my trips will involve a lot of driving, the other will involve lots of scuba diving.

I AM NOT GOING TO LET THE HOLIDAYS SLOW ME DOWN!

Absolutely - No matter when, there is always an excuse to overindulge, so what’s different about November and December.  I always keep my weight within a 5 pound target range, no exceptions.  If I gain one or two pounds, cut back a little on the eating and increase the workouts, no different from any other time.  The holidays are more about visiting friends, playing volleyball back in Florida, a few extra kayak trips, walking in the woods in North Carolina .....  It’s not all food. 

In reality we don’t eat any different.  Lean meats, fresh veggies, maybe some more wine.  The real changes are the people I get to visit.  All of us work out, eat smart and when we get together, it helps reinforce our eating habits - based on how great everyone else looks.  Surround yourself with people who think and act the way you want to think and act and it’s easy.

I have to agree with all of the above.  I see my scale as being as important to me as my hr monitor.  It gives me a reading of where my body is going and alerts me to any changes that need to be made.  A few weeks ago I noticed a plateau and slight gain.  When I checked my food log a noticed that I had not been taking in a lot of fiber.  The adjustment resulted in a nice steady weight loss again! 

The scale is DEFINITELY a friend!